Domino’s Franchisees Caught Up In Wage-Theft Case
The owners of a group of Domino’s Pizza franchises across New York State recently agreed to pay workers hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle a wage-theft investigation that had been started by the state’s attorney general.
The attorney general’s office says that it first got reports of labor law violations several years ago and launched an investigation into the actions of the Domino’s chain of restaurants. Investigators discovered what there had been a raft of labor law violations that occurred over the span of at least six years. Some violations included failing to pay delivery drivers the minimum wage they were entitled to, failure to reimburse auto expenses and failure to pay workers for overtime that they deserved.
The nearly $500,000 settlement will be used to pay back wages to more than 750 former and current workers. The settlement closely resembles another agreement reached just last week between the attorney general’s office and a McDonald’s franchisee that had also shorted workers on hourly pay. In that case, the McDonald’s owner agreed to pay nearly $500,000 to compensate workers for the years of shortchanging.
The attorney general’s office released a statement saying that the case involving Domino’s was troubling because it revealed a pattern of flouting labor laws and illegally chipping away at the already small amounts of money workers in the pizza chain earn. Fast-food employers are frequently accused of underpaying their workers and it is a problem the attorney general says deserves serious attention, given the already low wages paid to many in the industry.
Believe it or not, the recent deal with Domino’s is not the first time the attorney general’s office has had to wrangle with the pizza chain. Late last year another franchisee was forced to rehire 25 employees who had been wrongfully terminated after they complained that they were being paid less than minimum wage.
Experts say that the troubles experienced in New York are fairly common and happen in cases where employers think they can get away with underpaying workers who may not feel safe complaining about unfair or illegal treatment. Those who live paycheck to paycheck and count on that money to support their family often feel that they are unable to voice concerns about unfair treatment, including things like wage-theft. It’s good to know that officials are looking out for these workers and willing to make a public example of those employers who refuse to follow the law.
Source: “Domino's Franchisees Settle Wage Theft Investigation In New York For $448,000,” by Dave Jamieson, published at HuffingtonPost.com on March 27, 2014.
Source: “AG Schneiderman Announces Labor Settlements with 23 Domino's Restaurants in Eight New York Counties,” published at LongIsland.com on March 27, 2014.
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